Letters: Small businesses will hurt first May 19, 2022 [Re: Banks across the UK are ‘pulling the drawbridge’ as lending to small businesses hits all-time low, May 16] The fact that successful applications for finance amongst small firms have plunged to their lowest level since records began – while lending to large corporates has increased significantly since the start of the year – highlights [...]
Letters: The rise and fall of crypto May 18, 2022 [Re: Bitcoin has no future as a means of payment, warns top crypto boss, yesterday] Following news that the founder of crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried claimed that Bitcoin is not scalable enough to accommodate millions of transactions, the asset’s future as a means of payment has drawn considerable doubt. However, this doubt is valid. [...]
Economists hit back at Cable post-Brexit financial services regulation fears May 17, 2022 THINK TANK economists said yesterday fears that post-Brexit changes to financial services regulations could result in a ‘race to the bottom’ are “clearly nonsense.” Earlier this week former business secretary Vince Cable warned that changes to the UK regime could risk a financial crash in a letter signed by a number of other economists. But [...]
Letters: Putting it bluntly on cannabis May 17, 2022 [Re: Sadiq Khan could be leading the way in deserting the foolish war on drugs, yesterday] It is right to say the war on drugs is being lost by the government and police. Every city estate in the country has a problem, visible or invisible. One woman in my estate, in a leafy green area [...]
Letters: A new retention strategy May 16, 2022 [Re: Lack of housing ambition is a recipe for disaster for the capital, May 12] The transition to working from home and the exodus of people leaving London for the countryside, caused by the pandemic, has triggered changes across the commercial and property landscapes. Our capital is having to adapt, as a lack of housing [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Job-cutting government takes aim at civil service May 16, 2022 Boris Johnson is considering reducing the number of civil servants by more than 90,000, reaching an even lower level than what was planned pre-Brexit. Formal discussions will start next week, and will likely intensify tensions between ministers and civil servants. Relations have been strained recently, worsened by the row on working from home sparked by [...]
Business rates row set for crunch tribunal decision this week May 16, 2022 Businesses facing hefty business rates bills are set for a court showdown over the Government’s decision to strip them of their right to appeal their property taxes in a series of major cases this week. The Valuation Tribunal, an independent judicial body, will hear a series of 26 test cases on May 18 from occupiers [...]
Nailed on: Screwfix to open 80 stores in expansion May 16, 2022 Home improvement business Screwfix is to create 800 retail jobs by January as part of plans to open 80 new shops across the UK and Ireland. The retailer’s sales were boosted during the pandemic as locked-down Britons hired tradespeople to spruce up their properties and gardens. Screwfix and B&Q owner Kingfisher enjoyed profits of more [...]
Nigel Wray: Youthful enterprise will power British economy May 15, 2022 ONE OF the City’s leading entrepreneurs and investors reckons Britain will ride out economic headwinds thanks to a burst in enterprise amongst the younger generation. Nigel Wray, associated with high profile names like Domino’s Pizza and Simba Sleep and well known in rugby circles for his leadership of Saracens, told City A.M. today that he [...]
Crypto crash: Sharp falls will increase calls for regulation, say analysts May 15, 2022 BITCOIN remained some 30 per cent down on the year last night as the crypto crash which saw a host of ‘coins’ drop significantly in value at the back end of the week showed no signs of an immediate halt. The ethereum coin was trading around $2,000 over the weekend, having hit as high as [...]